Fire-Eating Performance Absent in South : Dole Refrains From Assailing Bush

What now for Bob Dole? Commencing his battle for the vast South, would he wear a grin or a grimace? What new cards might he play? Would he travel the high road or low? Devil or Angel?

Pursued by such questions, Dole and his underdog Republican presidential campaign hit the ground in Dixie Thursday with his answer: Wing it.

Those expecting a fire-eating performance to kick off Dole’s Southern campaign were disappointed.

The Kansas senator had raised such expectations following his loss in New Hampshire. He had bitterly proclaimed he had a stomach full of a newly aggressive and victorious George Bush.

But when served up leading questions about the increasingly personal rivalry with the vice president, Dole would barely bite, at least for this day.

“I don’t want to dwell on that,” he said at one point.

Borrows Popular Theme

On the other hand, those who expected Dole to freshen up the themes of his campaign saw him reach out and borrow a popular page from the Democratic campaign manual with a new pledge to stand up against foreign trade barriers.

“We may be asking for some additional trade reforms because we’re going to protect American workers--that’s got to be the No. 1 priority of an American President,” he told a press conference here.

Dole visited both Carolinas and then moved off to Georgia and Florida, conducting press conferences and supporter rallies along the way.

But there still appeared to be an incomplete strategy for just where in the vast 17-state Republican Super Tuesday battleground Dole would travel and make his stands. Vastly out-organized by Bush in the South, Dole has decided to try to focus on fewer, specific targets.

Campaign Rewrites Schedule

On Thursday, his campaign was hurriedly picking targets and rewriting its schedule.

One change in plan was Dole’s decision to turn down a debate tonight in Dallas with Bush and Rep. Jack Kemp. Dole said his campaign was offered only 60 tickets of 2,600 seats. He implied that the event, sponsored by the Dallas Morning News, was stacked in favor of the vice president.

“It’s a little disquieting to be outnumbered in the audience 600-to-1,” Dole said.

Dole repeatedly went out of his way on Thursday to draw the attention of Southerners to his last big squabble with Bush--a tussle in New Hampshire over taxes.

There in the last days of the campaign, Bush relied on anti-Dole television advertisements, one of which declared: “Dole can’t say no to taxes.”

Dole, and others independent of the two campaigns, have credited such advertisements with measurably assisting Bush among conservatives in New Hampshire. Dole complained the commercials amounted to “lying.”

Warns Charlotte Voters

He told voters in Charlotte, N.C., Southerners should be wary of a repeat here.

“I wanted to get here before the television ads do. I want to tell you right up front: Bob Dole isn’t going to raise your taxes. . . .”

The danger in such a tactic is that it will draw attention not only to Dole’s denial, but to Bush’s accusation.

In Washington, nine of Dole’s Senate GOP colleagues announced Thursday that they have formed a “truth squad” to travel through the Super Tuesday states and correct any “distortions” of Dole’s record that are made by opposing campaigns.

The group, led by Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), acknowledged that the decision to present a “clear and concise” view of Dole’s Senate record came in the wake of Bush New Hampshire TV ads.

“To say that Bob Dole has been anything but a tax-cutter, a deficit-cutter and a fiscal conservative is simply wrong,” said Domenici, who added that the group would have mounted its public efforts even if the Bush campaign spots had not created such a controversy.

Travel to Various States

To counter such charges in the future, Domenici said, Dole’s Senate colleagues will fly to various states over the next several weeks and “positively” point out the truth about his record.

Besides Domenici, the group of senators included Warren B. Rudman (R-N.H.), who chaired Dole’s New Hampshire campaign; Don Nickles (R-Okla.); Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R-Kan.); Alfonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.); Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska); Larry Pressler (R-S.D.); Steve Symms (R-Ida.), and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa).

Staff writer Josh Getlin contributed to this story from Washington.